


First Valentine's Day

by VelvetSky



Series: Through the Years [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Lots of kissing, Oral Sex, Smut, Valentine's Day, on the floor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-20 06:13:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13711578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky/pseuds/VelvetSky
Summary: It is Valentine’s Day, and even though they aren’t really a couple, Steve still can’t help thinking of Darcy.A/N: This story is set between Chapters 1 (Ice Cream) & 2 (Party) of Happy Birthdays. Part of the Through the Years Series.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This story is set between Chapters 1 (Ice Cream) & 2 (Party) of Happy Birthdays. Part of the Through the Years Series. That means that it's the year where they are quietly acting a lot like a couple, are involved sexually, but don't speak of things like love or commitments. Just so hopefully that's clear, especially if you haven't read any of the other installments of this series. 
> 
> Note the smut doesn't start until Ch. 3.
> 
> Unbetaed, as always. Started posting this on tumblr on Valentine's day, and kept debating how to post it here. Finally decided to just go with it like this here. Still working on chapter 4. Not sure how many chapters it will end up just yet. Such is how I write, apparently. lol

Steve hadn’t really thought about Valentine’s Day, not until it was nearly upon them. He and Darcy weren’t really a couple. They had been spending a lot of time together, ever since he met her on her birthday. And things had taken a romantic and physical turn, actually much faster than he’d expected. However, he was cautious about asking too much of her, she could have a mostly normal life if she wanted it. He wasn’t even sure if she didn’t date other people, and wasn’t out looking for some better guy all the time. He didn’t ask, he didn’t really want to know, but he kind of thought it was a possibility, because who would really want to be tied to his mess of a life. She hadn’t spoken up to hang a label on whatever they were, so he didn’t either. He was just desperate to have whatever of her he could have for as long as she wanted to give it to him. Steve could be reckless at times, but not with women.

If he was honest with himself, he was totally gone on her. But they stayed away from heavy words. They liked each other. They had fun with each other. They enjoyed each other. Even if they weren’t officially anything, Steve felt like he wanted to do something, though it also seemed strange to ask her to do anything. Maybe she wanted to go out with someone she might want something long run with. Or maybe she didn’t even like Valentine’s Day, she hadn’t said anything about it.

Any gestures had to be low key, and indirect, since they hadn’t told anyone about any of it. Steve had been on a mission for a couple of days, and Darcy had been buried in Jane’s work, but he still couldn’t resist doing something. So he sent two roses, one red, one purple, with a note, typed by the flower service, that read ‘Darcy, You make my life better and brighter. - S’

He hoped, but didn’t expect, that perhaps it would bring her to him for Valentine’s Day, if she didn’t have other plans. Steve had headed home in the early evening, Fury had allowed him to keep his apartment for a while, until The Tower was renovated, and Steve liked not always being locked in The Tower. His whole way home, Steve’s mind was working, wondering if Darcy got the flowers, if she liked them, if he’d over stepped, if she’d maybe come by, or at least send a message or something. He didn’t have too long to wonder, as he found her sitting on the front stoop of his building, the roses in her hand, and a smile on her lips.

“I assume these were from you, ’S’?” Darcy stood up as he approached.

“They were. I hope you liked them.” Steve’s pace slowed as he neared the bottom of the steps to his building.

“I do like them. I didn’t know we were doing anything for Valentine’s Day.” She gave the flowers a soft sniff, they had a soft scent to them, she’d been taking little inhales since she’d found them on her desk in the lab in the middle of the morning.

“I just wanted to let you know that - that I was thinking about you.” Steve stepped up the few steps to the one just below where she stood. It almost leveled their height, he still had a little bit on her, but it was closer. Her smile was so warm and it pulled him in every single time.

“I’m glad, I was thinking about you too. But I didn’t know how you felt about Valentine’s. Some people have strong opinions about it.” Darcy draped her arms around his shoulders, the roses hanging gently from the fingers of her left hand. When she did, his hands slid around her waist

“I always liked the idea of it, I just never really got to really have a Valentine. The only cards I ever gave were to my mother, or my friend. I wasn’t sure how you felt about it either, so I didn’t want to overdo anything.” Steve was really trying to keep cool, but the level of excited he felt inside was almost unreal. The last time his insides danced this much, well, he wasn’t actually sure it had ever been this much. But the closest was probably some time when he was a teenager, when he was feeling energetic one day, and he and Bucky would run around town having fun, eating whatever junk foods they could find, and doing stupid shit that teenagers did, where Steve got to feel half normal for a while. “Have you been waiting out here long?”

“Not very, no. I kind of asked Jarvis to quietly keep tabs on you after I got the flowers. And when it seemed you were wrapping up to go home, I left right away. I know you linger a bit, making sure you have everything sorted. And I know when you walk home, you usually don’t rush. So it gave me enough time to hustle over here.” The grin across her features was stunning, and when she started softly swaying, Steve found himself following. “I hope you didn’t have any other plans, if you do, I can go.”

Steve’s hands responded before anything else to her last remark. He also stopped swaying, pulling her even closer to him, his arms wrapping all the way around her, his hands curled at her sides from around her back. The way she giggled when he did that made him smile deep. The fact she’d figured out his habits, and used them to be waiting for him, had his heart feeling just a bit fluttery. “I didn’t have any plans until right now. I had only a hope that maybe you would turn up here.”

“Did you?” There was a flush all over her cheeks when she leaned just that tiny bit more to take a soft nip at his lips. His responded in kind.

“I did. Want to come up?” Steve was still holding her body tight against his, not quite ready to move.

“That was what I was hoping for.” They both laughed lightly, Steve gave her a squeeze before stepping up to her step. Darcy shifted, pulling her left hand away, and shifting her right from his shoulder to curl around his lower back. He moved accordingly and lead them up to his apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

They managed to climb the stairs in quick fashion, without ever letting go of one another. Steve had them inside and the door locked in no time. He took her coat, and she tucked her hat into her coat while he shrugged off his jacket.

“I feel like I should have maybe taken you out or something now.” Somehow she always had a way of making him feel special, in all the ways he’d never felt special before, yet also made him feel normal in all the ways he didn’t.

“I’m just happy to be spending time with you. I don’t care about going out. We’re both here, and that’s where I want to be.” Steve pulled her in tight and his lips pressed into hers with more intensity than perhaps he meant to show, but he didn’t worry when hers parted in an invitation, her other arm curling over his shoulders again.

They both came up slightly breathless a few minutes later, and they wore matching crooked smiles. Darcy giggled first, which made Steve chuckle. His fingers trailed lightly down her face from temple to jaw. His gaze got soft, yet something there still set her insides ablaze. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “I’m really happy to be here with you, too.”

The kiss she gave him in reply was soft and slow, and left his lips tingling. “I don’t suppose you have something I can put the flowers in?”

Steve smiled a little more, “I think I probably do.” He shifted to steer them both into his kitchen where he found an extra tall glass that seemed to do the trick.

“I almost feel like I should have done something for you today.” Once the flowers were safely in water on his counter, Darcy shifted to pull Steve back into the living room. He followed very willingly, wrapping himself around her when she stopped a bit shy of the couch. When he did, she leaned back into him.

“You did. You surprised me at my door. There was nothing I wanted more.” Her hands brushed up and down along Steve’s arms, prompting him to shift and sit down, pulling her down with him.

Darcy quietly loved how often Steve pulled her into his lap. She knew it was his super strength that allowed him to do so without her getting heavy, but since she’d heard more than once from guys before how that was an issue, she loved that he seemed happy to have her sitting in his lap for hours. She’d even fallen asleep on top of him once and woke in nearly the same position. He didn’t complain at all about it. He’d even said he’d liked it. “So, was there anything particular you wanted to do tonight?”

“Nope, I just want to be with you. We could have dinner, make something or order something. Watch a movie. Whatever you want. If I can just sit here with you, I’m happy.” When Steve’s lips grazed over her jaw, Darcy leaned her head into him more, a soft humming sound low in her throat.

“Dinner of some kind would be good, at least at some point. If you have something we can cook up, that could be fun. If not, ordering something in works too.” She was in no hurry to get back up again. She’d snacked after lunch, so she didn’t mind if it was an hour or more before they ate dinner.

“I have some easy to make things, like pasta. Is there anything special you want?” Maybe they hadn’t planned a Valentine’s date, but since Steve had her there now, it seemed like kind of a date. He wanted her to have what she wanted.

“Pasta is always good. We could also do pizza, I know we do that a lot, but it’s always good.” Darcy did love her pizza, and Steve seemed to have fun sometimes choosing different toppings. He’d tried pizza a few times growing up, but it wasn’t something he’d eaten a lot of. Only on odd occasions, usually out with Bucky, while venturing through some largely Italian neighborhood. The prevalence of it was not the same as it was now, but Steve did quickly find he really liked it.

Steve chuckled, more than half the time they hung out, either at his place or hers, they ordered a pizza. “Pizza could almost be a tradition with us.”

“Well, maybe we shouldn’t mess with tradition. It’s gotten us this far.” Not that Darcy quite knew what the thing between them was. She didn’t push though, happy to let it move at whatever pace Steve seemed comfortable with.

“The usual then?” Steve was already grabbing his phone, ready to dial up. He figured it might take a little while before it was delivered, so he could order and then they’d have a while to just relax together.

“Sounds good.” The smile was all over her face, arm around his shoulders. Her other hand resting on his chest, after moving away from his cheek and jaw so he could use the phone more easily.

Steve called in the order while Darcy just watched him. To be fair, he was watching her the whole time too. Listening to someone order a pizza had never been so captivating. Once he’d hung up, both hands were back on Darcy. His left arm was wrapped around her back had his hand pressed into her lower abdomen, and after the right was free of the phone, it landed on her thigh, where he got just a hint of skin with his pinkie finger near her knee. Darcy had dressed for Valentine’s Day, even though she didn’t have plans. Mostly because she’d been hoping to maybe cross paths with Steve, she’d actually tried to that morning, but he was already in a meeting when she stopped by his office. She was wearing an off the shoulder red sweater, the strap of her black bra showing, and a black flowy skirt that hit just above her knees. She had on tights, since it was February in New York, and had been wearing a coat and hat before she got inside. “We probably have an hour, or so, before it’ll be here.”

“At least it’s not too much longer than usual to wait. But I suppose pizza places aren’t as swamped on Valentine’s, not like Super Bowl Sunday or something.” Darcy’s fingers played with the collar of his shirt, which was a deep blue. Her gaze lingering a moment on what her fingers were doing, before lifting to meet his eyes. “I like this shirt on you, it makes your eyes shine.”

“It does? I just remembered the last time I wore a really blue shirt you said the color looked nice.” Which had been precisely why he’d picked another blue shirt today, on the chance he got to see her after he sent her the flowers.

Darcy’s smile radiated all over her face. “Yeah, it looks nice because your eyes pop when you wear it.”

“I think your red sweater makes your skin pop.” His hand lifted from her leg to trace his finger over the edge of her sweater from her collarbone on one side, across her chest, to her upper arm on the other side. Steve had noticed that before when she wore red, either clothing or just lipstick. Somehow when he looked up at her face again her eyes also seemed bluer at the moment. “Maybe it’s proximity, but maybe the blue in my shirt is making your eyes shine a little too.”

Darcy had trembled softly and her eyelids fluttered, as his finger brushed over the edge of her sweater, occasionally the tip of his finger had grazed her skin and it was like fireworks on her flesh every time. She wasn’t sure how he did that. After a deep breath, her gaze found his again, a softness in her eyes. “Anything dark or bright does that to my skin, I’m very pale. As for my eyes, maybe it is just reflected glory from your shirt.”

Steve chuckled softly at first, before his expression took a more serious tone, his hand shifting again to cradle her cheek. “First of all none of your glory is a reflection from anything else. You are your own glory. And second, I think the red is the perfect contrast and compliment at the same time.” He did notice the warm flush her skin got when he said it.

“Good to know.” A playful note hit her voice and her eyes when she spoke, her fingers drifting from his collar to his neck. “So what should we do with this time before the food arrives?”

“Since this is kind of like a Valentine’s date. Right?” Steve paused until she nodded and smiled at him, to which he exhaled a little. Smiling when he felt her fingers softly rub his shoulders. “Even though we’re staying in, not going out. Maybe we should do something date like, such as watch a movie, or anything else you would want to go do on a date.”

“Well,” there was a hint of mischief to her voice, and in her eyes that made Steve both nervous and excited. “We could dance. I like dancing, but I rarely get to go out to clubs anymore.”

“I like the sound of dancing, I always wanted to go dancing when I was young. But I think dancing is different now, isn’t it, and I never really learned how.” Steve wasn’t sure what dancing really involved these days. He’d seen some music videos and such, and it had definitely become something else from the dance halls of his youth. While he may not have learned or actually danced, he’d been to a few with Bucky, just that usually his date wasn’t actually interested in dancing with him and found someone more desirable to dance with.

“It is different now, I suppose. But it’s not too tough to learn. It’s mostly swaying, on a really basic level. You could probably find a sway and swing with your hips easy enough. But we don’t have to.” Darcy’s fingers still rubbed at his shoulders while his thumb brushed against her cheek. She couldn’t resist leaning in to press a soft kiss to Steve’s lips. She would have pulled back, but the movement of his lips on hers made her stay a little longer.

Pulling back finally, Steve’s eyes read a longing that had her hanging there just waiting for whatever he said or did next. His left hand pressed gently at her side, as the finger tips of his other hand brushed down her cheek and jaw. “The idea of getting to dance with you is incredibly enticing. I just don’t know how.”

Darcy nodded slowly, her stare still locked on him, until she leaned in lips close to his ear and whispered. “What if you just watched me dance? And then you can join me if you want.” She started to shift a little like she was going to get up, and Steve loosened his hold on her to let her move however she wished.

Steve watched as she backed slowly away from him a few steps before turning and quickly retrieving something from her coat near the door. She pulled out the earphone jack so the music would play through the speaker on the little player, it wouldn’t be really loud, but then she didn’t want to bother his neighbors. It was loud enough, in his small apartment. Katy Perry’s “California Girls”. Darcy started to dance, a little hip swinging, lightly bouncing, hair tossed over her shoulder, and Steve was completely mesmerized. It was very different from what he’d grown up with, but there was nothing about the way she was moving to the music that he didn’t like. She danced close to where he sat, watching him as he watched her. Steve’s eyes did roam a little, taking in the way her chest bounced and the sway of her hips, and the little shake of her ass, but he always circled back to catch her eyes. He was starting to sit forward a little more. The song changed to “Firework”, she had shuffle on so she didn’t know which song would come up next, and Darcy swayed different with the new beat, moving in close. It was almost a tease at a lap dance, until she gave Steve’s hand a tug and he got up. She pulled him away from the couch a bit and found he started moving with her, without her really having to do anything.

“Look at you dancing. Why am I not surprised that your moves are already smooth after thirty seconds.” Her smile was bright, with a slight crooked flirtation at the edges, which made him chuckle. Steve’s hands had found her hips, while his hips had found the beat. Darcy had gotten in close to him as soon as they started dancing together.

“I guess it’s easy when I’m following a beautiful woman’s every move.” And soon enough, Steve shifted their movement a little before falling back into following her. She raised an eyebrow at him and licked her lips.

The music shifted again to ‘Teenage Dream’, and Steve gave her a look after a few lines, Darcy put her hands on his shoulders and he dipped her, pulling her back up slow. Their hips moved right back into the beat, and they smiled at each other at the line about Valentine’s. There were a couple of stolen kisses as they moved with the music. Steve had started leading, and Darcy was completely swept into following him. He threw in a little turn or spin of her, which she seemed to easily follow, before going back to a more modern day hip movement. Not that Darcy was surprised he moved well, she’d seen him fight, and she’d seen him in bed, she knew he moved well, she was only surprised at how quickly he seemed to adapt to the movement and then melded it with something older that he said he’d only ever observed. But she supposed that was another perk of being a super soldier, he became quite adept, very fast. The very end of the song just became them kissing, when Darcy pulled him down to her lips.

Steve actually enjoyed dancing more than he’d figured, but he thought it had more to do with who his partner was than anything else. He loved feeling her leading, and then how easy she let him lead too. He didn’t mind at all though when she turned the dancing into kissing. The music changed over again, but neither were paying attention to it. Too wrapped up in the attempts to pull the other closer, while they let their lips and tongues take over the dance.


	3. Chapter 3

They kissed through a whole song before coming up for air. Darcy reached and switched the music off, Steve’s arms wrapped around her such it was almost like another dip, which made her lift and curl one leg high on his thigh. One side of his mouth smiled a little deeper than the other when she did. Pulling her up, his hand shifted to the back of her thigh so her leg didn’t drop away just yet.

“So long as you’re planning to be here a while, we may as well at least take off our shoes and get comfortable.” Though Steve still had his hand curled around the back of her knee, and Darcy had leaned her body into his.

“Sure, I’m not planning on leaving until you ask me to.” Often Darcy got comfortable right away when she came over to Steve’s, or insisted he do the same when he was at her place. Perhaps it was the Valentine’s excitement that had distracted her. Wanting to put the flowers in water, and being more than a little pleased at how happy he’d seemed to be at finding her waiting for him.

“What if I don’t ask you to?” He never asked her to leave, that was how they’d gotten to the point they were at. The first few times they just hung out until it was dark and getting late and Steve would suggest she just stay over, and she'd do the same when he was at her place. The very first time, he’d offered to sleep on the couch, but she wouldn’t hear of that. For a few weeks it was just sleeping, cuddled up together, but it wasn’t long after that when they started having sex, which seemed to double as an open invite to simply stay over whenever they were spending time together. But they sometimes teased each other anyway.

“Then I guess I’m not leaving.” For it not being a relationship, they had a lot of the trappings of a fairly serious relationship, including spare clothes lurking in each other’s drawers, toothbrushes in the other’s bathroom, a favorite coffee cup in each kitchen. Darcy wasn’t unaware of it, she simply didn’t let herself dwell on it. She liked him. Okay, in all honesty, she loved him, but he’d only arrived in this century a few months before she’d met him, less than a year ago, still. She didn’t want to push him into anything. It felt like a relationship, and he’d made no mentions or indications that he was pursuing anything with anyone else. The only times they didn’t hang out were when he was gone for a mission, or she was away for a week or so doing something with Jane. It didn’t seem like he had much other free time, other than what he was spending with her. So, she didn’t sweat that it was all kept quiet. She hadn’t even told Jane. Darcy didn’t want Steve to get spooked and run from it, if he needed more time to feel comfortable with openly being in a real relationship. Maybe she ran the risk of him deciding that when he was ready for that, that he didn’t want it with her, but Steve seemed genuine in his feeling for her. She didn’t think the way he felt about her was terribly different from how she felt about him, so she felt satisfied with that, for the time being.

Steve released her leg, and moved to kick off his shoes. Darcy bent over and wiggled out of her boots and dropped them near his entry area where she usually left her shoes whenever she was over. She also slid off her tights and left them with her boots. Steve usually kept his apartment reasonably warm, and she saw him nudge the thermostat up a little when she pulled off her tights. That was a major difference between her apartment and his. Both were old buildings, however his had been renovated sometime in the last fifteen years and had central heating and air, and a number of other more modern updates, where she had an old radiator that, while she had some control over, which was nice, not all buildings did, it wasn’t always as effective as central heating at maintaining an even, comfortable temperature. Steve also pulled off his socks, and put them aside with his shoes near her boots. “I always prefer it when you stay.”

Darcy raised up on her toes, arms around the back of his neck, fingers on one hand reaching up into his hair, and pulled him down into another kiss. Steve absolutely did not argue with another kiss. He happily took any and all kisses she wanted to give him, and tried give her at least as many as she’d given him. When he wrapped his arms snug around her, she curled her leg around his thigh again, her toes wiggling at his khaki pants. She’d never realized how sexy khakis could be until she saw Steve in them. Her wiggling toes started a soft chuckle that played in their kiss. Steve loved how easily he laughed and smiled when he was with her, even if he had trouble admitting that out loud, he thought she still noticed. She always seemed to laugh and smile when he did.

He let one hand roam, down over the curve of her butt, and along her thigh, to her knee. His index finger then brushed the back of her thigh, just above her knee. Darcy’s other leg almost buckled under her, her hands had tightened slightly on him for a moment, and she broke the kiss giggling. She was a bit ticklish there, a normal touch was okay, but Steve had figured out just the right feathery touch to make it really tickle, something he’d discovered a few months earlier and occasionally teased her with. Of course, her leg giving under her had little consequence, given how firmly he had his other arm around her body, holding her close against him. “It’s a good thing you’re strong, I’d have fallen otherwise.”

“As long as I can help it, I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Steve knew she was being playful, but it didn’t stop him from speaking seriously. His hands holding firmly to her. He couldn’t tell her all the things he felt for her, but he could make sure she knew he’d protect her with everything he had.

Darcy felt her knee go a little weak again, but she didn’t go anywhere, Steve still had her secure. “Be careful, say too many things like that, and a girl’s liable to never leave.”

Steve didn’t know what to say, but he knew how he felt. And his lips went right for hers, a low growl in the back of his throat. She was being playful still, he wasn’t sure if she fully meant that, he knew he was never going to have a normal life, and he couldn’t deprive her of one, even if it meant eventually letting her go, though the idea of having to let her go became less and less something he wanted to really consider.

His lips traveled off hers, along her jaw, and down her neck with a fervor. Darcy moaned softly, her leg finally giving way under her completely. Steve had her completely, lowering them both to the floor a moment later, without ever lifting his lips off her skin. Any coolness from the wood floor was simply a soothing from the heat being exchanged between them. His hands slid up under her sweater, pushing it up to expose her midsection, and his lips jumped to taste her soft flesh there. Darcy had been nervous the first time Steve went for that part of her body. Her belly was not a part that had gotten rave reviews from many people, she generally felt like she had a little bit more squish there than was considered desirable. But Steve had taken his hands and his lips to her stomach with such a desire, it was hard to feel like he didn’t relish every moment of it. She no longer tensed when he went there, she loved it. He managed to make her feel worshiped every time his fingers brushed or pressed into her skin, and the way his mouth attended her flesh, it was like nothing else. He always took a few moments to just savor every part of her before moving to the next. She was more than ready when he pushed her sweater all the way up, and she wiggled to help get it off. Steve didn’t bother with taking her bra off, just pulled down the cup and sucked her nipple between his lips. Darcy’s soft humming turned into a full moan, her fingers tangled into his hair, watching him. She loved whenever he looked up her body to find her eyes, and that he would hold her gaze as his lips and hands did scandalous things to her body.

Darcy started pulling at his shirt once her sweater was off. If she was going to be half naked on his floor, she wanted him to be too. Steve grinned with his lips still on her breast. Tongue circling while he quickly unbuttoned and discarded his shirt, he hadn’t bothered with an undershirt. Sometimes he did, but today he hadn’t. Probably because somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d hoped to end his day like this. Maybe he hadn’t thought about the floor at the time, but definitely with his lips on her skin. As soon as the shirt was off, her hands were on, stroking over his shoulders, down his back as far as she could reach, given their position.

While Steve’s mouth was focused on one breast, his hand was massaging the other, fingers slipped inside the cup of her bra. Her hips couldn’t help rocking against him, as her thighs squeezed his hips, forcing a groan from him. He slipped a hand under her back and had her bra off in the blink of an eye. That made her giggle almost every time. He had claimed little to no real experience with a woman when they first started getting physical about four months ago, but he sure was a quick study in, well, everything. The first time he’d been slow, cautious, nervous, but now he could have her naked on a floor moaning in a matter of minutes, if he wanted to. The only reason she still had panties and a skirt on was because he hadn’t desired to get them off her yet. That knowledge always turned her on.

The power he had to undo her that fast wasn’t something Steve ever really considered, or thought about. He never went into it wanting to make her weak in the knees, or have her helplessly moaning his name under him. He just wanted to make her feel good, which was often why, once things turned hot and heavy, he just dove in and started stripping her naked and touching her before giving her the chance to do the same to him, because as long as he knew she was up for that, he wanted to make sure to give her as much pleasure as he possibly could. Whatever she might do for him was completely secondary in his head, though she’d also never failed to blow his mind. His lips and hands savored her chest a little more before moving back down her body.

Kissing just below her belly button while his fingers tugged gently at the hem of her skirt, Steve was staring up her body. Darcy rubbed her lips together, as her fingers pressed into his skin, gripping his biceps, she breathed, “yes.”

And just like that her skirt and panties were gone in a flash. Steve paused for a moment though, knelt between her legs, hands stroking her knees, his gaze swept over her body as he sucked in a breath and then let it out in a long, soft sigh, “beautiful.”

Darcy quivered slightly from the the way the passion in his eyes rolled over her. She reached for him, and Steve leaned in over her, letting her pull him down for a hard and fast kiss that rocked him all the way to his toes. He stared at her for a long moment after she rested her head back on the floor to look up at him. His right hand slipped down between her legs and his fingers tenderly pet her. Darcy’s body was already aching, even his soft touch in the right spot, and she was squeezing his shoulder blades with all the force her fingers had. Steve’s face buried for a moment in her neck, the fingers of his bracing arm clung to her shoulder, while the other fingers stroked her folds. Steve was as wound up as she was, but he didn’t care, he could wait, but feeling how much she wanted him always seemed to shake him a little. He recovered enough to focus in and he shifted fast, pulling away from her grip, mostly, and settling himself belly down on the floor, his face between her legs.

Nipping softly at her inner thighs, all Darcy could do was clutch his hair and moan. His hands gripped her hips, fingers splayed over her pelvis and upper thighs, he didn’t waste any more time. His lips moving on her folds, his tongue dipped at her opening, making her legs cling to his back and her hips press into him. Steve smiled, and she could see it clear in his eyes. Another thing she’d been nervous about in the past, when a guy went down on her, they sometimes seemed bothered by overly enthusiastic responses, like having her pussy press into their faces, but Steve always smiled when she did that. It wasn’t like she tried to do it, but she liked not having to try not to do it.

Steve loved the way her body reacted to the things he did, and he always wanted more. Licking up the center of her as her breath got faster, and he saw her eyelids start to flutter. His hands squeezed her hips as his lips closed on her clit, giving a little suck and wiggling his tongue and she came undone, her hips twitching and her back arching, her moans caught and went silent as she peaked.

Darcy was trying to even out her breathing as she looked down at Steve, his tongue still lapping slowly at her entrance, drinking her up. Somehow it never stopped being amazing to her, the way he treated her body, it was completely intoxicating to her. Then her hips rocked again, when they did, Steve’s eyebrow arched and she giggled. His tongue wiggled at her clit, drawing a gasp from her that broke through her giggles. “That tongue is-”

She was cut off by her own moan as his tongue changed up it’s pressure and tempo, then pulled back a moment. “Well, it is a muscle, and probably the only one that was well developed before the serum.” Her mouth opened at his smirk, but before she could say anything, his mouth was on her again, going for the full french kiss of her pussy, and Darcy’s head dropped back to the floor, moaning his name as she came again. Steve had always known how to use his mouth, speaking wasn’t one of the things he had trouble with. Keeping his mouth shut, now that was sometimes a problem. He gently licked her clean as she came down off her high, and when Darcy tugged at his head to pull him up, he shifted quickly over her and covered her body with his own, pressing a kiss to her lips.

She couldn’t help giggling when she tasted herself, as he kissed her. She didn’t know why that made her giggle, but it often did, and she knew he knew it from the way he grinned. Steve did manage to grin quiet nicely while teasing at her lips. Opening his eyes for the last few nips, just to watch her, and see if he could catch her eyes opening too. The eye contact as he drew his lips back over her bottom lip had him hooked. Darcy was sucked into his stare for a while too, but then she had to make some use of her own tongue. “So, even your tongue has super powers. Then maybe it should have a special title, like the Tongue of Liberty. Because it keeps freeing me of all sensations besides you.”

They both laughed, and Steve blushed, burying his face in her neck and hair. Darcy giggled until he sighed long and soft, and seemed to squeeze her gently with his whole body. It made her sigh too, her fingers grazing lightly over his back, faintly tickling his spine.

Steve made a little ‘mmm’ sound as her fingers moved on his skin. He could have laid there for ages, just feeling her warmth beneath him, letting himself drown in the feeling of her close to him. Maybe they would have stayed like that for a while, despite the hard wood floor on her naked body, all Darcy could really feel was the heat and power of his body over her, however there was a knock at the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been stupidly long since I last updated this. I'm really sorry. Sometimes my ability to write hops from story to story, and sometimes stalls entirely, especially when dealing in slightly smutty scenes. I do my best to self cheerlead myself into finishing things in a timely manner, but it doesn't always work. And I'm still not sure how many parts this will end up having. But with Valentine's on the way again, I've been trying to do some work on this one again and I hope folks will enjoy seeing more of it, even though it's been ridiculously long since the first three parts went up. 
> 
> Thank you for reading :)

Steve pushed up a little and looked at Darcy. Even in just a handful or two of minutes, he'd completely lost himself in her, so much so, he wasn't really sure what the sound he heard was. Darcy smiled softly at him, reaching to trace a finger along his jaw. "It's probably the pizza guy."

"Oh, right." He chuckled softly, leaning in to press a quick kiss to her lips before pushing himself up, and then helping to pull her to her feet. He went looking for his cash while she pulled on his shirt and buttoned just enough buttons to not be flashing the pizza guy, and opened the door after a second knock and the guy announcing himself as 'pizza delivery'.

The guy looked barely eighteen, and his jaw pretty much fell open as soon as she opened the door, and he sort of bobbled the pizza before balancing it with both hands. Steve's shirt was long enough to cover her ass, and not make it clear she had no underwear on. Though having only buttoned it just to her sternum, her cleavage was on full display. When Steve came up behind her with his wallet, no shirt still, just pants, he had to grin at the look on the guy's face. He knew he'd have probably been making the same one, in his place.

"Pizza." The guy gulped, trying to force his gaze to Steve, and then trying to also look like he hadn't just ogled a clearly larger man's girl.

Steve was still smiling, "thanks." He took the pizza and moved a few steps to set it down just inside the kitchen on the counter before stepping back to the entry. The pizza guy had seemed to look Darcy over again before averting his eyes and appearing to turn to go. "The money."

"Oh, right!" The guy flushed.

"Keep the change, and I hope you have a nice evening." Steve handed the guy the cost plus a fairly generous tip. The guy smiled and Darcy waved before closing the door.

She couldn't help laughing once the door was closed, and Steve chuckled a bit too. "I think I managed to shock him."

"Poor guy didn't know what hit him. But I can hardly blame him. I'd be stunned stupid if a door opened and you were on the other side looking like you do right now." Steve had slid his arms around her and pulled her in close. Her laughing subsiding, and her grin turning into that warm smile that made him feel all safe and comforted.

"Aw, you're too sweet sometimes." Not that Darcy ever thought herself truly unattractive, but the extra fifteen to twenty pounds beyond what could be called trim, and not having classically beautiful features, as far as she could figure, had made her feel like she wasn't so appealing. That often the only thing guys noticed her for, was her chest. And if she wore enough layers, as she often did, especially since moving East for college, many guys simply looked right past her to the other girls. She'd had one friend in college who was leggy and blonde and got noticed by everyone. And another who managed to be moderately busty, but was also categorically thin everywhere else, and had those big doe eyes that seemed to enchant every guy she met. Next to them, Darcy always felt a little unpretty.

"Not at all. You are stunning, don't forget that." His voice was soft, low, his fingers on one hand playing with her hair. Steve couldn't imagine a room where he wouldn't find Darcy to be the most beautiful woman in it. And he'd been online, he'd seen what the world deemed the most beautiful actresses and models and such. For him, Darcy still had them all beat.

She flushed a bit but said nothing more on the matter. "I suppose we should probably get to that pizza while it's fresh."

Steve was still smiling at her, his eyes probably betraying his feelings. But then, it wasn't the first time that happened. He could keep himself from saying how he felt, but he couldn't stop his eyes from doing so. And sometimes he thought he saw her eyes sharing those feelings, though other times he wondered if he was only seeing what he wanted to see there. "I suppose so."

It took several moments for them to actually shift, from holding and gazing at one another, to moving toward the pizza in the kitchen. They, then, sat down on the couch to eat, Darcy curled up next to Steve, where he could swing an arm around her. He managed the pizza with one hand, so the other was free to hold onto her, while she wedged her toes under his thigh, feet between his legs. She hadn't bothered to put anything else on besides his shirt, so his hand quickly found her bare thigh. If he wiggled his fingers lightly, she giggled and pressed herself into his side a little more. So, of course, he kept doing it. If she'd actually asked him to stop, he would have, but she just giggled and smiled at him. 

"So, how's this measuring up to whatever ideas you had when you were young about Valentine's Day?" Darcy didn't know what, if anything he'd really imagined about it, other than his stating he'd liked the idea of the day.

"It's far exceeded anything I may have thought of, a whole lifetime ago." Steve hadn't completely stopped thinking about the past, about the life he'd never gotten to lead. He wondered sometimes, still. But less than he had in those first few months. He felt less lost, less adrift, and he knew it was because of Darcy. She was a grounding force to him. And at least in the times he spent with her, he let himself enjoy the new chance at living. Perhaps because she made a point of making sure he was actually living and not just sitting, stewing in his own thoughts all the time. She dragged him out to places, and he ultimately loved it every time, even if he seemed unsure about what she proposed before they went. She'd taken him to a lot of places and things over the holidays, while he kept trying to lock himself away and dwell on the past and all the people he'd lost.

Not that Darcy felt he should stop thinking about his past, or shouldn't feel the pain of it. There had been times when Steve just seemed so disconnected with life, and before she tried to make him go live and do something, she would hug him and hold him and tell him she was there for him. He didn't always share much, but sometimes he would give her a little peek at what was going on inside him, and she always listened when he did, and offered whatever support and comfort she could. "I'm glad it's been a good day. We'll make sure it's a good night, too."

"I'm sure it will be. It's always a good night with you." While his eyebrow did go up a the end, his eyes and voice poured nothing but earnestness. Yes, he really enjoyed getting to touch her, and be inside her, but that was not all that was good. There were times they spent together where they didn't have sex, and it was still wonderful just being near her, holding her, and talking to her.

Darcy giggled again, her fingers on one hand brushing his cheek, she too, was largely handling her pizza with just one hand. "Good, being with you is always a nice day or night for me too." Sometimes it felt like they got so close to admitting something more. So close, a few times, that Darcy had to actually bite her tongue to keep from spilling too many feelings to him. But she did hold them back, she didn't want to push because he was still dealing with this new world, and new life, and how to make peace with the one he'd lost when he went into the ice. She couldn't even imagine what that would really feel like, but what she managed to come up with seemed bad enough, the reality was probably worse.

"Are you warm enough?" Steve's hand was softly massaging her thigh while they sat and ate. She was snuggled in nice and close. While he felt fine, he ran warm, and still had pants on, he didn't want her getting cold.

"I am. You turned up the heater and besides, your body practically is a heater." Darcy was snuggled in so much largely just because she wanted to be close to him. The heating in his apartment was doing a good job of keeping her comfortable, despite her minimal clothing.

"Okay, just checking." His hand rubbing a little more deliberately up and down her thigh, and squeezing her close with his arm. Steve licked his lips clean before giving her temple a little kiss. "Gotta make sure I treat my Valentine's girl right."

Darcy smiled as her nose brushed his cheek. "You always treat me right, Steve. At this rate, you'll ruin me for all other men."

The flush that hit, not only his cheeks but Steve's whole body, was hard to miss. "A guy can dream, can't he."

While her laugh was soft and sweet, the look in her eyes made him feel like she was climbing right into his soul. He set the bit of pizza in his hand to the side on the plate he had on the end table, brushed his hand on his pants before taking hold of her face and pulling her into a bruising kiss. Darcy actually dropped the, fortunately only crust, piece of her slice right in his lap when he did. But Steve just picked it up and quickly deposited it with his own part of a slice, without breaking the kiss. She wiped her hand on his pants also, before completely succumbing to the kiss. Their lips parted, tongues teasing, and went deeper, as Steve pulled her fully into his lap. One of her hands went straight up the back of his neck into his hair, as the other pressed firm into his shoulder. Steve loved the force with which she squeezed him, it was strong, but maybe needy at the same time, it made him try to get her closer. He liked the feeling because it felt, the way he felt.

Finally, Darcy had to pull back, breathless. Steve's hand traveled from her cheek, all the way down her body, and over her leg, all the way to her feet. The tips of his fingers tickled at her ankle, making her giggle. She was still trying to catch her breath a little. "Ah! Stop!" She was still giggling and only softly swatted his hand, he stopped immediately though.

"Sorry." His hand gave her knee a squeeze and pressed his lips to her cheek. His gaze watching her intently for his next cues.

"You have to at least let me catch my breath before you tickle me. It's not fair otherwise." Darcy's hand cradled his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. "Especially since you aren't even ticklish anywhere, so I can't even get you back."

Steve chuckled a little, "I am, a little bit, just not a lot. But I feel soft tickles pretty much everywhere whenever you touch me softly. You're welcome to try finding if I have any real ticklish spots."

"Oh yeah? So is this a little ticklish?" The hand in his hair drew down, with just the tips of her index and middle fingers, skating lightly down his flesh, Steve’s eyelids fluttered, and he made a long, soft, ‘mmm’ sound, his cheek resting in her other hand. The whole thing made her warm and quivery. Darcy felt his arm try to press her closer, and his fingers squeezed her thigh and knee. The look he gave her when his eyes fully opened again seemed to suggest he may have felt her tremble.

Steve had, in fact, felt her tremble, and even felt her breath shift at his reaction to her touch. They often seemed to just spur each other on, because every reaction she had seemed to cause another in him, and vice versa. "You can tickle me like that any time."

Her fingers teased up his neck again, finding just below his ear, and his jaw, made him hum softly. Darcy loved when he seemed so happy and content. His hands squeezing and kneading at her leg as she trailed her fingers from his chin all the way down his neck. "I might have to. I like what happens when I do."

The soft touch, he did love it. It drew nearly as soft sounds from him. Steve's face still leaned into her other hand. He always wanted to touch and ravish her, but he also always wanted to just feel her having her own way with him. Either way, they had a good time. He smiled at what she said, though it was a bit lazy looking. "I like it too."

Darcy's fingers skimmed down to his chest. The thumb on her other hand softly rubbing his cheek. Her gaze shifting between watching her fingers move, and the look on his face. "I like how calm and happy you look."

"I feel calm and happy when it's just you and me." Steve so often felt like he had to be 'on' with the game face, whenever he was inside the Tower. He'd perhaps always been like that though. There were very few people in his life with whom he could let the mask drop around. It was almost amazing how quickly in knowing Darcy, the mask started to drop. And after six months of knowing her, it dropped whenever he was near her. Even around the Tower, on the occasions he encountered her, he felt himself relaxing and breathing a little easier. Though they both seemed to maintain a certain decorum in the Tower. They were friendly there, but not too cozy, they saved that for when they left the Tower. Which was how no one seemed to notice their ongoing - not a relationship - relationship. Though Steve would be lying if he didn't admit, at least to himself, that there were several times it had taken all his will power not to just scoop her up and cling to her. There were times, even whole days, at work where he wanted nothing more than to run to her, and just hold her, knowing that she'd hug him and hold him, and make him feel more at ease. He did sometimes text her those days to ask her to meet him after work, and she always did. 

Things like that, always sounded special to her, because she knew he didn't relax very easily and shared feelings even less easily. Darcy leaned in, her lips moving slow, softly grasping his lower lip with hers, and sliding slowly back. His eyes fluttered closed just before she made contact, and remained closed as her lips hovered near, the tip of her nose brushing his top lip, her eyes nearly closed as well. Her lips brushing his, again, elicited a low, gentle groan from him. That sound had her body fluttering with sensation, and her mind wanting to hear more of those sounds. Sometimes Steve could be very assertive, and in control, like a bit ago when he had her on the floor, but she loved that he also sometimes just felt like he was willingly anticipating anything she might do to him. It was both empowering and overwhelming at times. She pulled just off his lips again, her fingers tracing over his chest at the same time. Her eyes opened just a little to admire his face so close up, she had only a moment to wonder about his stunningly long eyelashes, when his lips reached out for her. The soft giggle she made, causing Steve to smile, as his lips found hers without ever opening his eyes. As he caught her bottom lip this time, her eyes closed, and she smiled. There was a low humming from the back of his throat as her index finger faintly stroked over his nipple, his hands decidedly shifted, his left arm circled around her body, while the right slid higher up her thigh. Darcy managed to then kiss and talk between nips. "You think... I could get... you... from calm and happy... to aroused... and buzzing with sensation?"

Steve's eyes opened just enough to catch her already peering at him through her lashes, as their lips kept softly rolling against each other. "You know you always can."

Darcy giggled a little, punctuated with a delicate bite to his lip, to which he made a sound that was half groan, half laugh. One hand moved up from her thigh to rake through her hair, and Darcy's lips pulled back, her eyes bright and open. "Can I? Like at any time that I wanted to? If I decided to lick my lips and bat my eyes while running my fingers down my neck from across a room at work, would that start warming things up for you then and there."

"It definitely would. I'm very thankful that you don't intentionally try to get me riled when I'm working because it's already distracting enough when I simply see you there sometimes, especially if I haven't seen you at all in a few days." Steve tried to avoid directly saying he missed her, in case it was too heavy. Perhaps more from habit, than anything else, after six months of knowing her, but she seemed to do the same. She would say things that made him feel like she missed him, but she didn't use the exact words.

"I didn't know I had that kind of power." Her fingers still teasing lightly over his chest. They avoided using words with expectations, like love and miss. But she sure felt them, and occasionally wondered if perhaps he felt them too, just wasn't prepared for a real attachment. It made sense to her, he was still finding his place, and wasn't prepared to completely tie himself to something, even if it was something he did genuinely care for. And she did know he cared, he'd been clear on that, that she mattered to him, that he wanted her safe and happy.

"See, you have secret powers you didn't even know." She laughed, with a slight eye roll that made him laugh too. Steve may not have admitted to anyone other than himself, but he did admit to himself, that he cared for her more than anyone else. He, of course, cared about his fellow Avengers, and several other people he'd spent time around frequently enough in the nearly nine months since he'd come out of the ice. Darcy more so than the rest though. As they stared at each other for a long moment, Steve let his fingers play in her hair, twisting a strand on his finger, then brushing the tips of his fingers from her temple all the way through to the ends.

"I suppose I should promise to only use my powers for good and not evil then." Darcy's voice was soft and breathy as her lips brushed the tip of his nose, and he laughed softly before it cut off with a little gasp as Darcy circled her thumb around his nipple.

Steve’s lips grazed along her jaw. "That would be nice of you. At least when we're at work. Here, you can use them any way you want to." He basically breathed the words out before catching her lips with his own.

The kiss got deep quickly. All parted lips, raking teeth, and teasing tongues. Steve's hand cradled her head and slowly sank into Darcy's hair as her fingertips seemed to be creating sparks of electricity all over his skin. He loved this, he loved her, but he couldn't say it, so he just tried to let it seep out in the way he touched her. As her hands roamed down to the waist of his khakis, he groaned.

Darcy shifted to straddle Steve's lap, without removing her lips from his, as she pulled down his pants and underwear just enough to reveal his already fully erect penis. She rubbed herself along his length before sinking down upon him. They moaned in sync momentarily breaking their kiss. Once she'd caught sight of him looking at her through her eyelashes, she pulled back to stare back at him. It always seemed to be a toss up between wanting to kiss him and wanting to stare at him. Doing both at the same time was usually tricky but they did try sometimes. Her hips rolled as one of his hands shifted to grip her butt while the other slid up her spine.

She was still wearing his shirt and that image was really doing things for Steve. It was more of a dream than he'd ever even tried to have. Her fingers trailed up his chest and then into his hair. He groaned again as his hips rocked in time with hers and he felt her fingers press a little more into his scalp. One hand slid around to pop a couple more buttons on the shirt without ever taking his eyes off hers. The way she smiled and her lips pushed out and apart slightly when he did was impossible to resist. Their lips moved with fervor as his fingertips teased over her chest near her heart before slipping under the fabric to softly squeeze her breast and circle his thumb around the peak.

The breathy moan she made was so quiet Steve almost felt it on his lips more than he heard it. Everything about her made him want even more of her, it almost seemed crazy when he stopped and thought about it sometimes, but he loved it. It was a thrill that felt equal to jumping out of a plane. It made everything in his body tingle with electricity all the way down to his toes.

The pace of her hips grew a little each time she rocked against him until she shuddered and the little voice she had at the moment came out in a sharp breathy whine. "Steve."

The way her insides squeezed around him and the way his name had sounded coming off her lips had Steve coming right after her. He felt himself tremble even more than she had and his hands gripped her tight and tried to pull her closer. But he did his best to keep his eyes on her. Something about staring into her eyes as they both came just intensified the whole experience.

It was these moments that had Darcy feeling and hoping that it would just take some time and maybe then Steve would feel ready to really be with her. To make it an actual relationship, because she didn't really want to give this up, ever.


End file.
